Please note: The Cal Vet College Fee Waiver cannot be used for this program.
Master of Public Administration
Degree Program
The accelerated Master of Public Administration Distance Learning program is offered by CSULB's Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration in partnership with the College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPaCE). The convenient format of the distance learning MPA, which combines online and in-person classes, allows working professionals to complete the program in a short period of time without career interruption. This innovative learning opportunity features web-based, real-time, interactive sessions with students and faculty.
This program is designed to provide a diverse student population with the professional competencies necessary for leadership and management roles in public service, and in community-based and nonprofit organizations. The program emphasizes the theory, practice, skills, and ethics necessary to promote excellence in public service management.
Program participants proceed through a sequence of pre-selected courses as a learning team. The course components are delivered online and in one face-to-face Saturday class meeting on the CSULB campus. One night per week, students will participate in a synchronous web-cast lecture/discussion with the course instructor. Students will participate in one asynchronous class session using Canvas software.
College:
Health and Human Services
Department:
Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration
Accreditation:
National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration
- Professionals working in the public sector
- Public managers and administrators
- City managers and public officials
- Individuals who desire advanced management skills/knowledge and would like to have the ability to move up within their agency
- Accredited program
- Six-week sessions and courses offered in a sequential accelerated format
- Cohort learning team
- Courses taught by CSULB faculty with years of academic and professional experience
- Complete the program in as few as 22 months
- Degree offers a blend of leadership and management expertise
- Professional network of over 1,700 CSULB MPA graduates in Southern California and the nation
- How to lead public and nonprofit organizations
- Skills and techniques to manage human resources
- Financial management and budget analysis techniques
- How to define and solve practical problems in the public sector
- How to communicate effectively with diverse individuals and groups
- The roles of public and nonprofit sector organizations in American government
- How to structure and manage complex public and nonprofit organizations
The MPA degree requires 39 semester units of graduate course work. Students are required to have a computer with web access (broadband access preferred) and a current web browser.
A minimum of 24 units of 500/600 level courses in PPA, 15 units of elective course work, and the completion of the student learning portfolio.
- PPA 500, Foundations of Public Policy and Administration
- PPA 555, Government Budgeting and Finance
- PPA 577, Public Sector Personnel Administration
- PPA 660, Seminar in Organization Theory and Behavior
- PPA 670, Seminar of Policy Issue Analysis
- PPA 696, Research Methods in Public Administration
- PPA 697, Directed Research
- PPA 554, Public Works Facilities and Urban Policy
- PPA 570, Negotiating Dynamics: Strategies and Skills
- PPA 571, Leadership Skills and Strategies in Public Sector
- PPA 575, Public Sector Employer-Employee Relations
- PPA 610, Seminar in Urban Affairs